Teammates,
We have had another busy month. Your patience and dedication to IPPS-A is greatly appreciated, and we thank you for your feedback as we build upon the system together.
Speaking of feedback, submitting enhancement requests is critical to enhancing the system and making IPPS-A work best for you and your fellow Soldiers.
Just recently, CPT Alysa Nantarojanaporn, 89 MP Bde, CPT Timothy Donegan, B CO 1-13th AvnCoE, and SSG Nathalie Orion, 10th MTN Division, brought to our attention an issue that is preventing supporting documentation from being attached to Career Skills Program (CSP) absence requests.
Because they submitted enhancement requests, our team will be able to assess the issue and identify the best possible solution. You will see an update on this in a future release. Thank you all for truly making IPPS-A a Soldier system!
Remember to provide your Enhancement Requests to the Team through Customer Relationship Management (CRM).
As we continue to make progress, I want to provide you with some updates, guidance, and resources:
Personnel Asset Inventory (PAI) Extended
The deadline for submitting PAI statuses is now
15 May 2024 for the Active Component and
31 May 2024 for COMPOs 2 and 3. HR Professionals and Leaders
must prioritize this effort to improve the accuracy of data in IPPS-A and to enhance projected strength reporting within IPPS-A and the Defense Readiness Reporting System – Army (DRRS-A).
We need your help with reaching 100% accountability.
The following job aids can help you with the PAI:
- Account for the Army Checklist
- Pay-Absences-Incent-Ded (PAID) and In-Transit Grid (ITG) User Guide
- Personnel Accountability & Strength Reporting (PASR)
- Retirement and Separation Personnel Action Request (PAR)
You may find all job aids here:
Resources,
S1Net, and the
Training Aids.
Army Organization Server (AOS) Playbook
The AOS Playbook Version 1.4 provides users with an introductory overview of the AOS system along with the knowledge required to view, edit, and validate organization structure data. It offers a consolidated source of AOS roles and responsibilities and step-by-step instructions to use common AOS tools and capabilities.
You may find the playbook in the
AOS Data Quality teams channel (under the training and collaboration tab > files > AOS Playbook > v1.4 pdf file).
We’ve received some questions about the process for exporting AOS Unit Identification Codes (UICs) and Billets. Please see the refresher document for guidance, and let us know if you have any questions.
Training Environments
We will be shifting towards using a single Operational Training Environment (OTE), as supporting one environment will allow for a faster refresh rate while still providing trainees the learning experience they need.
The Institutional Training Environment (ITE) also provides users a way to conduct training, and supports Army Human Resources Command (HRC), Soldier Support Institute (SSI), and all United States Army Reserve (USAR) and Army National Guard (ARNG) Adjutant General (AG) schoolhouses.
*
NOTE: there is a planned ITE outage 24-25 April 2024 and the environment will not be available during this time.*
Please remember that the IPPS-A training environments (practice sites) are used to practice or create test transactions, while only
real transactions are to occur on the IPPS-A live system (production site).
Self-Service:
https://my.ippsa.army.mil
Elevated User:
https://hr.ipssa.army.mil
Operational Training Environment (OTE):
https://hr.ippsa.army.mil/upk/r3/resources/help/Publishing%20Content/PlayerPackage/data/toc.html
Medical Operational Data System (MODS) and IPPS-A
Many of you have submitted CRM cases pertaining to the inconsistencies between MODS and IPPS-A. We are aware of the issue and a repopulation of the MODS data will occur shortly. We will provide an update once the issue is resolved.
Submitting further PARs or CRM cases will not expedite the process at this point. We appreciate your patience as we work to improve IPPS-A.
HR Processing Stage Removal
There has been some confusion in the field about the HR Processing stage in IPPS-A. This stage is now gone from all PARs
except for the Admin Records Correction PAR.
Please note that the Admin Records Correction PAR is the only PAR requiring follow-on actions for S1 Pool members. Please refer to the
attached slide for a visualization.
This change will be formally captured in the next version of the IPPS-A User Manual to clearly define what the HR Processing Stage’s intention.
Army Training Requirements and Resources System (ATRRS) Data and IPPS-A
Barring any irregularities, IPPS-A typically updates daily with inbound data from the ATRRS.
The inbound processing of data into IPPS-A drives transactions in the system, and it is critical to let the process run its course. Manually adding data that will eventually come over from other systems (e.g., data for Enlisted Professional Military Education [EPME], Military Occupational Specialty [MOS] qualifications, Advanced Individual Training [AIT], etc.) can have negative impacts.
I am attaching
Interface Timelines to help the field understand when IPPS-A is scheduled to pull information from other systems. Based on this schedule, users can anticipate data updates and make CRM Cases if data is not available. This document is also accessible on S1Net.
Please be aware of the inbound data schedule and how the timing of inbound data may impact your actions.
Single Evaluation Processing (SEPS) Data Missing
We have identified an issue where IPPS-A is not receiving the entirety of SEPS data, which is causing these values to remain blank within some SM’s records. We are actively evaluating the problem to implement a fix.
Please note that field users should not manually enter data in blank fields, as this information may be lost due to system updates.
Drive the Change Channel
If you are looking for more IPPS-A information, join the
Drive the Change channel on MS Teams! You will get updates, training information, and job aids for new releases.
This channel also offers New Release Training every Friday following a release. During these events, the IPPS-A team will walk through items released into production the night before and explain where the updated training packages reside.
You may access the channel here:
https://dod.teams.microsoft.us/l/channel/19%3adod%3a1fc38b9ba1714261a5e2e78bddbb92d3%40thread.tacv2/1.%2520Drive%2520the%2520Change?groupId=a0f79218-9101-4c6c-863b-84c8c14309e9&tenantId=fae6d70f-954b-4811-92b6-0530d6f84c43.
Resources
We have many great IPPS-A products created by units located on S1Net. On the left-hand side of the
IPPS-A landing page, find the SUB-TOPICS column, and click “IPPS-A SOPs/Tools” underneath that. Please feel free to “donate” any IPPS-A SOPs and products that have worked for you team!
S1Net is where you may also find our webinars. These instructional sessions cover a variety of IPPS-A topics and can be viewed anytime on the
Training & Webinars page.
Our IPPS-A group on Facebook is a great place to connect with your peers and access real-time updates, dialogue, and answers to
your questions. Under the tab labeled “Files,” you will find helpful resources. To join, visit
https://www.facebook.com/groups/875398305999928.
Listen in to the IPPS-A Podcast to hear information from Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and learn what’s going on with the program. In our
latest episode, I chat with MAJ Ian Morris, IPPS-A Business Intelligence Product Team Lead, and CPT Benjamin Kier, IPPS-A Assignments Product Team Lead, about the Account for the Army campaign, leveraging SABIR as the Army’s authoritative strength projection tool, the latest with Assignments, and the new Pay-Absences-Incent-Ded (PAID) and InTransit Grid (ITG) guide.
You may find the IPPS-A Podcast on
YouTube,
Apple, Spotify, and Castbox.
For additional information and resources, be sure to visit our website at
https://ipps-a.army.mil/.
Thank you for your continued support, and keep driving the change we need in our Army!
v/r,
Becky
Rebekah S. Lust
COL, AG
IPPS-A FMD Director